Conference misery::feline

    I remember asking about this several years ago - maybe a previous
    generation of this file?  JFCL had kitty pimples on her chin off and on
    for several years.  The vet had me bathing her chin (which she HATED)
    and applying antibiotic (ditto).  It eventually cleared up, and has not
    recurred.  There was some talk that I should switch to using cermaic
    rather than plastic food dishes since ceramic is easier to clean, but I
    never actually did.  She's a dowager among cats these days: JFCL will
    be 18 in February.  None of the other kitties ever got cat acne, just
    her.
    
    /Charlotte

    
    Chin acne is in fact not at all unusual in cats. I've only seen it once
    in my own cats (the previous generation), and it didn't get bad enough
    to form scabs (just "zits"), so I can't comment on your vets recommended
    treatment, though I do sympathize with your little girl's plight.  I have
    heard anecdotal reports that it can be triggered by certain types of
    plastic food bowls - in my case, I replaced their bowls and it cleared up
    by itself.  Now, I wouldn't call this scientific evidence, but you might
    want to consider switching to ceramic or metal food and water dishes if
    you're not using this type already.
    
    len.
      

    I've got two cats (out of four) that get feline acne.  One is a fair
    haired red tabby with a penchant for breaking out when eating out of
    plastic dishes.  Both cats eat only fishy kinds of food, I figure that
    some of the fish oils must get left behind even tho both are clean 
    freaks.  I don't think they can adequately reach the area below the
    chin to clean it properly.  Both of these cats rub their chins on the
    ground when let outside.  I cringe if they do this when the acne is
    present, the other two have never done this or had the acne.
    
    I would wrap the animal in a towel before attempting to clean the area
    the way the vet suggested.   Sounds like it would hurt to put medicine
    on the open sores.   Can't the vet give you something for the cat to
    take internally?  

Thanks all for your response and concerns. Yes, she eats out of plastic. I guess
I'll pitch the bowl when I get home and switch to either steel or ceramic. She's
a dry food eater out of the bowl, although she has gotten "treats" from us on
ocassion, but always where we can watch her, and never in large amounts (i.e.
chicken, fish, etc). I've been more concerned about the texture of her coat and
skin due to the dry food and dry winter months, but she's never had a problem
with that. I guess I was sorta surprised to find out about her acne.
	As for wrapping her in a towel. We used to do that when we trimmed her
claws, but she would go absolutely ballistic. We have found that just letting
her stand on a flat surface where she couldn't sink her hooks into any gripping
surface has been better for her; she feels a bit more secure, although she still
gets upset near the sink and running water. My wife holds her back and hind
quarters and I grip her around the shoulders and she stays pretty still, but
does she scream!! Just lift a hand off of her though and she'll slash out!
Sounds like we're killing her when we nurse her!! After the orderal is done she
shakes it off, licks a bit, then is as friendly as ever. A pure lap cat (daddy's
lap, that is!!).
	I'll ask the vet about internal medications. I'll also mention her
rubbing her chin after treatment. I think all she's succeeding in doing is
grinding dirt into the open sores. 

Thanks again to you all,

Jim

    Well, I'm not a vet, but I would recheck with your vet about
    this treatment, as it sounds very uncomfortable (to say the least)
    to me, and it's more stringent than what my vet told me to do for
    Holly.  He had me hold a warm damp facecloth (hold, not rub) against
    her chin for a few minutes once (or twice??) a day.  She didn't
    mind that, since I made it part of cuddling.  Your kitty may be
    so wigged out that she won't be amenable to even that now.  My vet
    also prescribed an antibiotic pill.
    
    IMHO, if I had acne on my own face, I sure wouldn't scrub it with
    something that stung.  You might want to get a second opinion from
    another vet, or a vet who specializes in dermatology.
    

    
      My Tabby long ago got acne on his chin, and when the bowl was changed
    from plastic to ceramic it cleared up.  While it was clearing up, the
    vet suggested a warm wet cloth to rub any residues off his chin.  he
    didn't mind that treatment at all.  the acne never returned.

    I've used a soft toothbrush and some Phisoderm on my white cat's
    chin acne with good results.  Just scrubbed it gently a couple of 
    times and it seemed to clear up pretty quickly.
    
    Jan

    As soon as you change the bowls...(both water and food bowls) the
    problem will clear up very quickly.
    
    

    I've been using non-plastic dishes for the cats for years and we
    still have an occasional bout of kitty acne.  Mac is going through
    one right now.  It's a particularly persistant batch but it is
    beginning to show signs of clearing up.  I've been using Phisoderm
    and/or Panalog ointment on it.  
    
    The only theory I have on why they still get this is that they're
    sneaking drinks of my water out of my plastic glass.  All of their
    food dishes and water bowls are ceramic.
    
    Jan

    Jan, do your kitties eat canned or dry food?  Holly's acne
    vanished after I switched mine to dry food.  I think the
    canned stuff used to get under her chin.
    

    They eat dry most of the time and only get occasional treats of
    wet food (they got Fancy Feast Turkey and Giblets for Christmas).
    
    I'm not sure what is going on with Mac.  I think I need to take
    him in for a check up any way.  He seems slightly different for
    some reason like there may be more going on with him than just
    the kitty acne.
    
    Jan

    One of my cats Max seems to be prone to acne.  I can see how he would
    go ballistic if he was rubbed with antibiotic.  What I have found that
    works, and he doesn't mind at all, is to comb the scabs off with
    a fine plastic flea comb.  Then, I put pure aloe vera on the area.
    He does not seem to mind this treatment at all, and if I am thorough
    with combing him, then they are gone (until they come back again in
    a few months or so)
    
    Valerie

    Chin acne - yes I couldn't believe it when the vet informed me my
    new kitten had it - and said it was fairly common - I'd never seen
    nor heard of it before.
    
    My trick was hydrogen peroxide!  It worked great.  A friend of mine
    dabbed some on her bully kitty who had recently received some "war
    wounds" from a big kitty battle, and it cleared up the problem in
    no time!  So I just soaked a cotten ball and dabbed my new one's chin
    with it...and I did it for almost a week, and voila!  I didn't really
    read all the details about the procedure you were performing, but it
    appeared quite lengthy...maybe this would be easier?
    
    Good Luck!
    
    Cindy
    
    

Well, Wooly didn't respond at all to the daily shampooing, so I took her back to
the vet for other ideas. He gave me an internal antibiotic and told me to cut
back on the shampoos to once a week. It was a real battle getting the meds into
her, I think she actually got about 1/2 of it at best, she spit the rest out
(she's a ferocious drooler!) and the chin scabbing got worse. She was scratching
constantly and reopening the wounds. Last night we took her back for even more
ideas. The vet has now got her on 1/4 mg of TETRACYCLINE daily. This is supposed
to cut down on her white cell activity and, according to him, will allow the
area to slow in pustule activity. Then he recommended we use a mild degreasing
dish detergent to clean her chin area daily. Whadaya think? has ANYBODY ever
done this before? Am I nuts giving her tetracycline? Is HE nuts for recommending
it?! I would like to see this cleared up correctly and with minimal affect on
Wooly. I've read the previous notes on alternative remedies, none of which I've
tried yet. Got any input on this?


Jim

    How about putting on a Elizabethan Collar for a while to give the chin a
    chance to heal.
    
    						Trace

Hi Trace,
	Yeah, we were considering the E-collar. In the past few days she's left
herself alone (thankfully) and the wounds are healing a little. If she shows
signs of scratching herself again I think we'll have no choice but to use the
collar on her. So far she's taking the tetracycline with a small amount of wet
food and she doesn't seem ot notice it. So far, so good.

Jim